Iowa

Facebook confirms state-of-the-art data center in Iowa

Rumors have been confirmed that the new massive data center to be built in Altoona, Iowa, will be owned by none other than Facebook.

The social network announced Tuesday that the 194-acre site will be the home of its fourth wholly-owned and operated data center worldwide.

"For most people, Facebook is something pretty simple. It's a service you visit every day to connect with the people and things you care about," Facebook's vice president of infrastructure engineering Jay Parikh wrote in a blog post. "But behind the scenes, Facebook is a global service of immense … Read more

Google points to Iowa for sowing satellite antenna farm

Google announced earlier this month that it was gearing up to start laying fiber-optic lines in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., to deliver very high-speed Internet access to residents. Now, the Web giant is setting it sights on Iowa, according to Data Center Knowledge.

"We are building a very small earth station project that is right next to our data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa," says Google spokesperson Jenna Wandres.

If all goes according to Google's plans, the antennas would receive feeds from broadcast networks and even be bundled with the high-speed fiber service, according … Read more

Now Anonymous threatens Iowa caucuses?

Is it possible that hacking has become slightly old hat?

Is it possible that the amorphous group called Anonymous has decided more direct action is necessary?

This might be the case, given a new YouTube video which has emerged from the very loose organization. This one attempts to rouse a disruption of the 2012 Iowa caucuses, traditionally the first in the election process.

In the video, which includes some quite hum-worthy music, the disguised narrator declares that both political parties have failed us.

He continues: "Both parties are desecrating the American democracy and committing crimes against humanity on behalf … Read more

Warren Buffett boosts Iowa wind

MidAmerican Energy plans to install 593 megawatts worth of wind power in Iowa, the company announced yesterday.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based company is a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which itself is a listed subsidiary of Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway. About 89 percent of MidAmerican Energy Holdings is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, a MidAmerican spokeswoman told the Associated Press.

MidAmerican Energy has signed a deal with Siemens Energy to provide the wind turbines for the project, which will consist of 258 of Siemens' giant 2.3-megawatt wind turbines installed throughout several counties in Iowa by the end … Read more

Ford recruits 'virtual soldier' for ergonomic tests

Ford's newest employee has moved from the army to the assembly line. But since he's virtual, that type of job change shouldn't pose a problem.

Designed to test the safety of Ford's auto factories, Santos is a virtual avatar that can mimic and record all the physical strains and pains that plague us poor humans. By reaching, lifting, and stretching in his own virtual world, he can provide feedback on how those activities might affect an actual person.

Initially created for the U.S. Department of Defense to help find ways to relieve physical strain on soldiers, Santos is now working at Ford testing the ergonomics of assembly lines. His job is to perform the same physical tasks that a factory worker would perform when building a car to gauge their impact on the human body. The automaker's goal is to improve the quality and safety of its factories before assembly lines are even created.

LGBT researcher calls for action to combat cyberbullying (podcast)

As fellow CNET blogger Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reported, a recent survey by researchers at Iowa State University found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are more likely to experience cyberbullying than their heterosexual counterparts.

The survey found that 54 percent of LGBT youth reported having been cyberbullied within the past 30 days.

Study coauthor Warren Blumenfeld, an associate professor at Iowa State, pointed out during an interview that much of the bullying is taking place in chat rooms but also on social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Many of the young people interviewed want to see these sites … Read more

Iowa State research to give UAV jockeys a virtual view of battle space

A team from Iowa State University is using virtual reality technology to develop "immersive" ground control stations that will give operators of military unmanned aircraft (UAV) an overall view of their planes and the battle space they are flying over.

The university's Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC) team is working under a $4.2 million contract as part of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's effort to develop the "next generation control interface" for military UAVs. If successful, the real-time virtual view of the battle space will allow a single operator to control … Read more

Iowa chosen for next Microsoft data center

Updated 1:25 p.m. PDT with more details and a photo of an aerial view of the site. Also updated at 3:37 p.m. PDT with confirmation on the container approach.

The Iowa city of West Des Moines now has two things to celebrate.

The same week that hometown hero Shawn Johnson captured gold on the balance beam, the city has learned that a bunch of new jobs are headed its way.

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has picked the city as the site for its latest massive data center.

I reported earlier this week that the … Read more

The Rolling Stone cover story Michael Moore never wrote

Moore was asked by Rolling Stone to interview the top three democratic candidates for a cover story. As he explains in a recent letter on the eve of today's Iowa caucus at MichaelMoore.com, the story never ran.

Moore opens his letter with a New Year's salutation and goes on to express his indignation at President Bush. He then notes "That the Democratic front-runners are a less-than-stellar group of candidates, and that none of them are the 'slam dunk' we wish they were."

Two months ago Moore set out to interview the big three Democratic contenders (Clinton, Obama, and Edwards) for Rolling Stone. While both Senator Edwards and Senator Obama agreed to sit down and chat, Senator Clinton refused and the cover story was killed pursuant to Moore's agreement with the magazine to interview all three.

It's not clear from the letter whether Moore was still able to interview Obama and Edwards. Most of the post is spent lambasting Clinton for her voting record on the war; he also criticizes her for taking more contributions from the health care industry than any other candidate.